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The air inside a cloud can be very different from the air outside the cloud, not only because of the presence of cloud droplets and increased water vapor, but also in terms of density and temperature. In this Activity, students learn what types of cl...
Book Chapter
Meteorologists collect data from multiple weather stations and instruments on Earth’s surface. The weather maps seen online and on TV are analyzed pictures that are produced after the data analyses have been completed. Weather maps usually show the...
Book Chapter
Riding the Wave of a Hurricane
Hurricanes are the most destructive storms on Earth. Hurricanes contain tremendous amounts of energy. When it appears that a hurricane is moving toward land, the National Weather Service (NWS) issues hurricane watches and warnings. In this Activity, ...
Book Chapter
The atmosphere is made up of a variety of gases, but it is gases like water vapor and carbon dioxide, which make up a small fraction of the air, that have the biggest impact on us in terms of precipitation, pollutants, and global warming. The atmosph...
Book Chapter
In this Activity, you will explore how gases can be dissolved in a liquid or solid, what influences how those gases are released from the liquid or solid into the atmosphere, and how that process can be used to explain why there is as much oxygen in ...
Book Chapter
El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO)
ENSO refers to the periodic “shift” in sea surface temperatures across the equatorial Pacific Ocean that affects climate in a large portion of the world. The acronym ENSO comes from two such climate shifts, one known as El Nino (which corresponds...
Book Chapter
Although we usually cannot feel the air, there are times when the force of the air is obvious. Differences in air pressure influence the wind as well as cloud formation, and air pressure observations can help meteorologists predict weather patterns. ...
Book Chapter
The ozone layer refers to a region of the atmosphere about 15–30 km above Earth’s surface that contains a relative abundance of ozone (but still a tiny amount compared to the rest of the air). Ozone is a molecule containing three oxygen atoms (in...
Book Chapter
The Percentage of Oxygen in the Atmosphere
How do we know how much of each gas is in the atmosphere? We cannot see the individual atoms that make up the air and, even if we could, we would not be able to count all of the atoms to see which type of atom is most common. There are several ways t...
Book Chapter
Air Pollution and Environmental Equity
Airborne pollutants include “criteria” pollutants, such as ozone, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and lead, and toxic pollutants like benzene and mercury. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is charged ...
Book Chapter
At first, you may think the particles are the result of pollution. While much of the particulate matter in the atmosphere is the result of humans polluting the air, there are also natural sources of particles. Wind-blown dust and pollen are examples,...
Book Chapter
Weather and the Redistribution of Thermal Energy
The weather that we observe, like the variations in temperature, humidity, wind, and precipitation, is a consequence of the atmosphere’s response to differences in its temperature. In response to these differences, the air circulates and thermal ...
Book Chapter
Why Is It Hotter at the Equator Than at the Poles?
For locations close to the equator, the Sun can get close to directly overhead. For locations close to the poles, the Sun never gets far above the horizon. For some days of the year, the Sun never gets above the horizon at all. So, why is there a dif...
Book Chapter
Global Warming and the Greenhouse Effect
The “greenhouse effect” refers to how certain gases in the atmosphere (like carbon dioxide and water vapor) warm due to their absorption of infrared radiation emitted by Earth, leading to the surface of Earth being warmer than it would be with...
Book Chapter
Which Gets Hotter: Light or Dark Surfaces?
On sunny summer days, is it better to wear light-or dark-colored clothing if you are trying to keep cool? Which type of clothing is best to wear on cold, sunny winter days if you want to get warm quickly? You probably have answered some of these ques...